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Debris off Australia a “credible lead” for missing Malaysia jet

Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, says search planes are investigating potential debris. The objects are about 2,500 km southwest of Perth. A Norwegian merchant vessel has arrived in the search area to assist in the search.

This combination of handout images taken by satellite image provider DigitalGlobe on March 16, 2014 and released on March 20, 2014 by the Australian Government’s Department of Defense via the Australian Maritime Safety Authority show satellite images of objects in the Indian Ocean which may be from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which disappeared en route to Beijing early on March 8. Australia said on March 20 that the two objects — the largest estimated at 24 meters (79 feet) long — spotted in the Indian Ocean were the “best lead we have” in the search for the missing Malaysian passenger jet. (Australian Government’s Department of Defence and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority/via AFP Images)

This handout Satellite image made available by the AMSA (Australian Maritime Safety Authority) shows a map of the planned search area for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 on March 20, 2014. Two objects possibly connected to the search for the passenger liner, missing for nearly two weeks after disappearing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing, have been spotted in the southern Indian Ocean, according to published reports quoting Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. (Photo by AMSA via Getty Images)

This handout Satellite image made available by the AMSA (Australian Maritime Safety Authority) shows a map of the areas searched between March 18 and March 20, 2014 for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370. Two objects possibly connected to the search for the passenger liner, missing for nearly two weeks after disappearing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing, have been spotted in the southern Indian Ocean, according to published reports quoting Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. (Photo by AMSA via Getty Images)

Selamat Omar, father of flight engineer Mohd Khairul Amri Selamat who was on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, is seen inside a hotel where he and other relatives of the passengers of the missing Boeing 777-200ER are staying in Putrajaya. (Samsul Said/Reuters photo)

A man writes messages and well-wishes for family members of passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 inside a shopping mall in Putrajaya, March 20, 2014. (Samsul Said/Reuters photo)

A message for passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is seen on big screen in Kuala Lumpur March 20, 2014. (Samsul Said/Reuters photo)

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) crew members from of an AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft walk down a ladder after they arrived in Perth March 20, 2014 after searching an area in the southern Indian Ocean for the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. (Tony Turner/Reuters photo)

Family members of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 passengers arrive for a briefing on the current situation at a hotel where other passenger’s relatives are in Cyberjaya, outside Kuala Lumpur March 20, 2014. (Damir Sagolj/Reuters photo)

A family member of a passenger onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 reacts as he watches a message board dedicated to the passengers onboard the missing plane at a hotel in Beijing March 20, 2014. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters photo)

Malaysia’s acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein is seen in a camera screen as he addresses reporters about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 20, 2014. The international search for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane is continuing in both the northern and southern “corridors” where it is believed most likely to have flown, Hishammuddin told reporters on Thursday. (Damir Sagolj/Reuters photo)

A crewman looks out of the window on board Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orion aircraft during a sea search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in an area between Australia, southern Africa and Antarctica, in this still image taken from video March 20, 2014. Aircraft and ships plowed through dire weather on Thursday in search of objects floating in remote seas off Australia that Malaysia’s government called a “credible lead” in the trans-continental hunt for a jetliner missing for nearly two weeks. (via Reuters TV)

Chinese relatives of passengers from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 react as they wait for news at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing on March 20, 2014. An investigation into the pilots of missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 intensified on March 17 after officials confirmed that the last words spoken from the cockpit came after a key signaling system was manually disabled. (Mark Ralston/Getty Images)

Wen Wancheng (C), who is the spokesman for the Chinese relatives of passengers from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, gives comments to the media at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing on. Wen, the father of a Chinese passenger on board Malaysia Airlines 370, clung to hope on March 20 despite Australia’s announcement satellites have spotted possible aircraft debris, insisting “My son is still alive”. Wen’s son was one of 153 Chinese passengers on the flight which disappeared on March 8 during a flight to Beijing. (Mark Ralston/Getty Images)

This handout photo taken on March 19, 2014 shows Royal Australian Air Force Navigation and Communications Officer, Flying Officer Brittany Sharpe from 10 Squadron, coordinating all communications between planes from aboard an AP-3C Orion over the southern Indian Ocean. (via AFP/Getty images)

This undated handout picture released by Hoegh Autoliners shows the Norwegian company’s vessel Hoegh St Petersburg” which was asked by Australian authorities to assist in the search of the debris of the missing Boing 777 of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 . (via AFP/Getty images)

The crew of a Chinese Coast Guard vessel use a net to deliver a parcel to members of the Malaysian Navy during a brief exchange in the middle of the South China Sea on March 15, 2014 in Kuantan, Malaysia. During a press conference today the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak said that investigators had discovered evidence from satellite and radar systems indicating that the communication systems of the aircraft had been intentionally disabled. The search for the plane in the South China Sea has now been abandoned with the focus switching to two flight corridors, the first stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and a second stretching from Indonesia to the South Indian Ocean.The missing aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

A Chinese Coast Guard ship is seen in the middle of South China Sea on March 15, 2014 in Kuantan, Malaysia. During a press conference today the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak said that investigators had discovered evidence from satellite and radar systems indicating that the communication systems of the aircraft had been intentionally disabled. The search for the plane in the South China Sea has now been abandoned with the focus switching to two flight corridors, the first stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and a second stretching from Indonesia to the South Indian Ocean.The missing aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

A member of the Malaysian Navy makes a call as their ship approaches a ship belonging to the Chinese Coast Guard during an exchange of communication in the South China Sea on March 15, 2014 in Kuantan, Malaysia. During a press conference today the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak said that investigators had discovered evidence from satellite and radar systems indicating that the communication systems of the aircraft had been intentionally disabled. The search for the plane in the South China Sea has now been abandoned with the focus switching to two flight corridors, the first stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and a second stretching from Indonesia to the South Indian Ocean.The missing aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

A member of the Malaysian Navy prepares a line to be thrown across to the Malaysian Navy’s KD Kasturi Sea ship during refueling and restocking on March 15, 2014 in Kuantan, Malaysia. During a press conference today the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak said that investigators had discovered evidence from satellite and radar systems indicating that the communication systems of the aircraft had been intentionally disabled. The search for the plane in the South China Sea has now been abandoned with the focus switching to two flight corridors, the first stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and a second stretching from Indonesia to the South Indian Ocean.The missing aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

Admiral Dato Azhari Abdul Rashid, the Commander of Naval area 1 covering the South China Sea, leads a prayer during refueling and restocking on March 15, 2014 in Kuantan, Malaysia. During a press conference today the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak said that investigators had discovered evidence from satellite and radar systems indicating that the communication systems of the aircraft had been intentionally disabled. The search for the plane in the South China Sea has now been abandoned with the focus switching to two flight corridors, the first stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and a second stretching from Indonesia to the South Indian Ocean.The missing aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

A crew member looks out the windows from a Malaysian Air Force CN235 aircraft during a search and rescue (SAR) operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 plane over the Strait of Malacca on March 15, 2014. Prime Minister Najib Razak said on March 15 that Malaysia was ending a search in the South China Sea for a vanished jetliner after investigations indicated the missing plane likely turned far to the west. (Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images)

The crew of the Malaysian Navy ship KD Kasturi prepare the ship during refueling and restocking at Kuantan Naval Baseon March 15, 2014 in Kuantan, Malaysia. During a press conference today the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak said that investigators had discovered evidence from satellite and radar systems indicating that the communication systems of the aircraft had been intentionally disabled. The search for the plane in the South China Sea has now been abandoned with the focus switching to two flight corridors, the first stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and a second stretching from Indonesia to the South Indian Ocean.The missing aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

A family member of a passenger from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 waits for news at the Lido Hotel on March 15, 2014 in Beijing, China. During a press conference today the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak said that investigators had discovered evidence from satellite and radar systems indicating that the communication systems of the aircraft had been intentionally disabled. The search for the plane in the South China Sea has now been abandoned with the focus switching to two flight corridors, the first stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and a second stretching from Indonesia to the South Indian Ocean.The missing aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

A crew member looks out the windows from a Malaysian Air Force CN235 aircraft during a search and rescue (SAR) operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 plane over the Strait of Malacca on March 15, 2014. Prime Minister Najib Razak said on March 15 that Malaysia was ending a search in the South China Sea for a vanished jetliner after investigations indicated the missing plane likely turned far to the west. (Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesian national search and rescue agency personel watch over high seas during a search operation for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the Andaman Sea on March 15, 2014. Investigators now believe a Malaysian jet that vanished was commandeered by a “skilled, competent” flyer who piloted the plane for hours, a senior Malaysian military official said on March 15 as Prime Minister Najib Razak prepared to address the nation. (Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP/Getty Images)

In this picture taken on March 14, 2014, Subramaniam Gurusamy, 60, shows a portrait of his son Puspanathan who was onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight at his home in Teluk Panglima Garang, outside Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said that Malaysia was ending a search in the South China Sea for a vanished jetliner after investigations indicated the missing plane likely turned far to the west. (Mahah Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images)

The crew of the Malaysian Navy ship KD Kasturi prepare the ship during refueling and restocking at Kuantan Naval Baseon March 15, 2014 in Kuantan, Malaysia. During a press conference today the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak said that investigators had discovered evidence from satellite and radar systems indicating that the communication systems of the aircraft had been intentionally disabled. The search for the plane in the South China Sea has now been abandoned with the focus switching to two flight corridors, the first stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and a second stretching from Indonesia to the South Indian Ocean.The missing aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

A member of the Malaysian Navy pilots a boat in the South China Sea on March 15, 2014 in Kuantan, Malaysia. During a press conference today the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak said that investigators had discovered evidence from satellite and radar systems indicating that the communication systems of the aircraft had been intentionally disabled. The search for the plane in the South China Sea has now been abandoned with the focus switching to two flight corridors, the first stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and a second stretching from Indonesia to the South Indian Ocean.The missing aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

A Malaysian Navy personnel gestures towards the ship’s captain as they approach a vessel belonging to the Chinese Coast Guard during an exchange of communication in the South China Sea on March 15, 2014 in Kuantan, Malaysia. During a press conference today the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak said that investigators had discovered evidence from satellite and radar systems indicating that the communication systems of the aircraft had been intentionally disabled. The search for the plane in the South China Sea has now been abandoned with the focus switching to two flight corridors, the first stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and a second stretching from Indonesia to the South Indian Ocean.The missing aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

Indonesian national search and rescue agency personel watch over high seas during a search operation for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the Andaman Sea on March 15, 2014. Investigators now believe a Malaysian jet that vanished was commandeered by a “skilled, competent” flyer who piloted the plane for hours, a senior Malaysian military official said on March 15 as Prime Minister Najib Razak prepared to address the nation. (Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesian national search and rescue agency personel watch over high seas during a search operation for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the Andaman Sea on March 15, 2014. Investigators now believe a Malaysian jet that vanished was commandeered by a “skilled, competent” flyer who piloted the plane for hours, a senior Malaysian military official said on March 15 as Prime Minister Najib Razak prepared to address the nation. (Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP/Getty Images)

A relative of passengers from the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 plane waits for new informations at a hotel in Beijing on March 15, 2014. The needle-in-a-haystack hunt for the missing Malaysian airliner spread to the vast Indian Ocean on March 14 after the White House cited “new information” that it might have flown for hours after vanishing nearly seven days ago. (Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images)

Sgt. Zulhelmi Hassan of the Malaysian Air Forces communicates with the pilot during a search and rescue mission flight on March 13, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A Chinese agency has released a satellite image taken on March 9 of large floating debris in the waters between Kuala Lumpur and South Vietnam, reported to be a “suspected crash area.” Officials expanded the search area for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 yesterday, beyond the intended flight path to include the west of Malaysia at the Straits of Malacca as new information surfaces about the time Subang air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft. The flight carrying 239 passengers from Kuala Lumpur to Thailand was reported missing on the morning of March 8 after the crew failed to check in as scheduled. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

The Royal Malaysian Navy, a Royal Malaysian Navy Fennec helicopter prepares to depart to aid in the search and rescue efforts for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 over the Straits of Malacca in this handout photograph received on March 13, 2014. (REUTERS/The Royal Malaysian Navy/Handout via Reuters)

Members of the public, MAS staff, and politicians pray during a special prayer as the search for missing Malaysian airline MH370 expands to the Indian Ocean March 14, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The missing aircraft carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew disappeared six days ago baffling the international rescue and search team who have found no remains or clues in the waters surrounding South East Asia. All passengers and crew are currently under investigation for possible sabotage although no evidence of such activity has been found. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

A muslim man prays after a special prayer as the search for missing Malaysian airline MH370 expands to the Indian Ocean March 14, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The missing aircraft carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew disappeared six days ago baffling the international rescue and search team who have found no remains or clues in the waters surrounding South East Asia. All passengers and crew are currently under investigation for possible sabotage although no evidence of such activity has been found. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

Members of the public, MAS staff, and politicians pray during a special prayer as the search for missing Malaysian airline MH370 expands to the Indian Ocean March 14, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The missing aircraft carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew disappeared six days ago baffling the international rescue and search team who have found no remains or clues in the waters surrounding South East Asia. All passengers and crew are currently under investigation for possible sabotage although no evidence of such activity has been found. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

Royal Malaysian Air Force Navigator captain, Izam Fareq Hassan marks locations on a map onboard a Malaysian Air Force CN235 aircraft during a search and rescue (SAR) operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 plane over the Strait of Malacca on March 14, 2014. Malaysia confirmed on March 14 that the search for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane had been expanded into the Indian Ocean, but declined to comment on US reports that the jet had flown for hours after going missing. (Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images)

Crew members look outside windows from a Malaysian Air Force CN235 aircraft during a search and rescue (SAR) operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 plane over the Strait of Malacca on March 14, 2014. Malaysia confirmed on March 14 that the search for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane had been expanded into the Indian Ocean, but declined to comment on US reports that the jet had flown for hours after going missing. (Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images)

A Royal Malaysian Air Force Navigator captain, Izam Fareq Hassan (C) looks at a map onboard a Malaysian Air Force CN235 aircraft during a search and rescue (SAR) operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 plane over the Strait of Malacca on March 14, 2014. Malaysia confirmed on March 14 that the search for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane had been expanded into the Indian Ocean, but declined to comment on US reports that the jet had flown for hours after going missing. (Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images)

This aerial picture, taken from aboard a flying Soviet-made AN-26 used as a search aircraft by the Vietnamese Air Force to look for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, shows boats searching the surface of the waters off the southern seas of Vietnam on March 9, 2014. (Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images)

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement personnel look through binoculars during search and rescue operations for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 as they fly over the waters off the northeastern coast of peninsula Malaysia. (Malaysian Maritime Enforcement handout photo/AFP/Getty Images)

This aerial picture, taken aboard a Soviet-made AN-26 used as a search aircraft by the Vietnamese Air Force to look for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, shows an Air Force officer looking out a window over the southern seas off Vietnam on March 9, 2014. (Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images ORG)

This picture, taken from aboard a flying Soviet-made AN-26 used as a search aircraft by the Vietnamese Air Force to look for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, shows crew members in the cockpit during search operations over the southern seas off Vietnam on March 9, 2014. (Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images)

This picture, taken aboard a flying Soviet-made AN-26 used as a search aircraft by Vietnamese Air Force to look for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, shows instrumentation used by a crew member looking out the window during search operations over the southern seas off Vietnam on March 9, 2014. (Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images)

A military search and rescue ship is seen before departing to search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, at a port in Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island March 9, 2014. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER aircraft carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew was presumed to have crashed off the Vietnamese coast on Saturday. (Nguyen Phuong Linh/Reuters)

A relative (front) of a passenger of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries as she walks past journalists at a hotel in Beijing, March 9, 2014. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER aircraft carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew was presumed to have crashed off the Vietnamese coast on Saturday. (Jason Lee/Reuters)

An aerial view of an oil spill is seen from a Vietnamese Air Force aircraft in the search area for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, 250 km from Vietnam and 190 km from Malaysia, in this handout photo from Thanh Nien Newpaper taken on March 8, 2014. (Trung Hieu/Thanh Nien Newspaper/Reuters)

China’s largest patrol vessel in the South China Sea, “Haixun 31,” (center) is seen at a port before leaving for search and rescue operations for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, in Sanya, Hainan province. Malaysian officials are poring over CCTV footage and questioning immigration officers and guards at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport, concerned that a security breach may be connected to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. (Stringer/Reuters)

Aircraft and ships ploughed through dire weather on Thursday in search of objects floating in remote seas off Australia that Malaysia’s government called a “credible lead” in the trans-continental hunt for a jetliner missing for nearly two weeks.

The large objects, which Australian officials said were spotted by satellite four days ago in one of the remotest parts of the globe, are the most promising find in days as searchers scour a vast area for the plane lost with 239 people on board.

A Norwegian merchant ship arrived in the area on Thursday, but officials cautioned it could take days to confirm if the objects were parts of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777. Malaysia’s government said the search would continue elsewhere despite the sighting in the southern Indian Ocean.

The area where the objects were spotted is around 2,500 km (1,500 miles) southwest of Perth, roughly corresponding to the far end of a southern track that investigators calculated the aircraft could have taken after it was diverted.

“Yesterday I said that we wanted to reduce the area of the search. We now have a credible lead,” Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

A search for the plane that began in the tropical waters off Malaysia’s east coast has now switched to the vast, icy southern oceans between Australia, southern Africa and Antarctica.

Two Royal Australia Air Force AP-3C Orions, a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon and a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion were involved in Thursday’s search which was called off late in the evening and will resume on Friday.

There have been many false leads and no confirmed wreckage found from Flight MH370 since it vanished from air traffic control screens off Malaysia’s east coast early on March 8, less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.

Hishammuddin said the information on the objects received from Australia had been “corroborated to a certain extent” by other satellites, making it more credible than previous leads.

The larger of the objects measured up to 24 metres (79 ft), long and appeared to be floating in water several thousand metres deep, Australian officials said. The second object was about five metres (16 feet) long. Arrows on the images pointed to two indistinct objects apparently bobbing in the water.

“It’s credible enough to divert the research to this area on the basis it provides a promising lead to what might be wreckage from the debris field,” Royal Australian Air Force Air Commodore John McGarry told a news conference in Canberra.

The satellite images, provided by U.S. company DigitalGlobe , were taken on March 16, meaning that the possible debris could by now have drifted far from the original site.

Australian officials said an aircraft had dropped a series of marker buoys in the area, which will provide information about currents to assist in calculating the latest location.

The captain of the first Australian air force AP-3C Orion plane to return from the search area described the weather conditions as “extremely bad” with rough seas and high winds.

A Norwegian car carrier diverted from its journey from Madagascar to Melbourne and had arrived in the search area, the ship’s owner said. A Royal Australian Navy ship equipped to recover any objects was also en route.

China’s icebreaker for Antarctic research, Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, will set off from Perth to search the area, Chinese state news agency Xinhua cited maritime authorities as saying. About two-thirds of the 227 passengers on Flight MH370 were Chinese nationals.

BACKGROUND CHECKS

Investigators believe that someone with detailed knowledge of both the Boeing 777-200ER and commercial aviation navigation switched off the plane’s communications systems before diverting it thousands of miles off its scheduled course.

The discovery of the floating objects was revealed by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

“The task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult and it may turn out they are not related to the search for MH370,” he told parliament.

The dimensions of the objects given are consistent with at least one of them possibly being the major part of a 777-200ER wing, which is around 27 metres (89 feet) long, though Australian officials cautioned the first images were indistinct.

The relatively large size of the objects would suggest that, if they do come from the missing aircraft, it was largely intact when it went into the water.

If the plane had run out of fuel, it would not necessarily have plummeted but its behaviour would have depended on whether there was someone in control and their intentions, pilots said.

Modern aircraft are designed to use the rush of wind to drive a small emergency turbine that keeps hydraulics and some electrical power running if the engines run out of fuel.

If the debris is from the plane, investigators would face a daunting task to retrieve the “black box” data and voice recorders needed to help understand what caused the disaster.

University of Western Australia Professor of Oceanography Charitha Pattiaratchi said that, based on currents in the area, if the debris is from the plane it probably would have entered the water around 300-400 km (180-250 miles) to the west.

The search area covered an ocean ridge known as Naturalist Plateau, a large sea shelf about 3,500 metres (9,800 feet) deep, Pattiaratchi said. The plateau is about 250 km (150 miles) wide by 400 km (250 miles) long, and the area around it is close to 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) deep.

“Whichever way you go, it’s deep,” Pattiaratchi said.

Investigators piecing together patchy data from military radar and satellites believe that, minutes after its identifying transponder was switched off as it crossed the Gulf of Thailand, the plane turned sharply west, re-crossing the Malay Peninsula and following an established route towards India.

What happened next is unclear, but faint electronic “pings” picked up by one commercial satellite suggest the aircraft flew on for at least six hours. That would be consistent with the plane ending up in the southern Indian Ocean.

The methodical shutdown of the communications systems, together with the fact that the plane appeared to be following a planned course after turning back, has focused particular attention on the pilot and co-pilot.

The FBI is helping Malaysian authorities analyse data from a flight simulator belonging to the captain of the missing plane, after initial examination showed some data logs had been deleted early last month.

A Malaysian official with knowledge of the investigations into the pilots said three simulator games that 53-year-old pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah had played were being looked at.

“We are following up on the data logs being erased,” the source said. “These could be logs of the games that were erased to free up memory, so it may not lead us to anything. He played a lot of games, going into hundreds and thousands of hours.”
– Tribune, wire reports

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